


The Mind of a Clone

by Sunja



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Basically, Maul interrogates Jesse, Mind Rape, Siege of Mandalore, jesse's memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:09:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23825104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunja/pseuds/Sunja
Summary: Maul breaks into Jesse's mind. This is what he finds there and what he thinks about it.(Written in part (!) before phantom apprentice, so slight deviation from episode)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 86





	The Mind of a Clone

**Author's Note:**

> What is the meaning of this? Your guess is as good as mine. Why did I write this? Because I have feelings about Jesse and Maul and they needed to be dealt with. Startet writing this yesterday before the episode came out. Finished it today after. You'll notice.

The clones fought well but they were ultimately no match for Maul and his team of Mandalorian warriors. They had incapacitated as many of them as they could and only killed those where there was no other choice. Maul needed information. Information about the Jedi. And the Clones were the easiest way to get it. 

“You will tell me about the Jedi.”, he addressed the captured Clones. Brown eyes stared back at him. Hard. Determined. Loyal. 

Just as well. Maul had other means. 

He placed his palm on the first troopers head. Immediately he could tell this one was young, had only joined them a few weeks prior. Useless. 

He moved on the next. Also young, but a bit more experienced. He had known the Jedi before this mission. But not that well. 

Maul looked over the clones, studying them. The two he’d just checked were wearing plain armor, only adorned by the blue and orange that all of them wore. There were a few, that wore more elaborate armor. More protection around their shoulders and legs. Some had more individual markings on their armor. They were the older ones. 

Maul moved to the first one with different markings. Yes, this one was older. He’d been in the war for almost a year. Not bad, but the Force told him he could do better. So he moved on. 

He checked three more clones before he got to one with no orange paint. He wore the republic symbol on his helmet, he had significant modifications for his armor. And he had fought the most ferociously before Maul had choked him with the force. He was now cuffed and held by two Mandalorians. Most of the other clones were deterred enough by the blasters pointed at them, but this one was fierce. 

Maul allowed himself a small smirk and reached for the Clone’s helmet. The Clone growled, but it was futile as Maul lifted the helmet of his head. The face below was the familiar face of a Clone, brown eyes glaring angrily. The Clone was bald and had the sigil of the republic tattooed across half his head and face. 

Maul reached out to his mind with the force and found… Shields. Interesting. So the Jedi trained Clones against force suggestion. Yes, this one was what Maul was looking for. They needed to leave for now, but Maul would enjoy breaking through the Clone’s shields later. For now, it was enough that he could tell he knew the Jedi well. The Clone’s shields were strengthened by a single thought: I won’t endanger Ahsoka.

“What’s your name, Clone?”, Maul asked. 

The Clone just stared back unafraid and noncompliant. Yes, this one was experienced in war. He had obviously been in dangerous and inescapable situations before. 

“Kriff you.”, the Clone said. Low. Dangerously. 

Yes, Maul liked this one. 

“We’re taking this one.”, he told his men. “Kill the rest.”

“No!”, the Clone yelled as immediately several of his brothers were gunned down. A few managed to tackle some of Maul’s men and they fled into the tunnel. Maul nodded to two of his troops who took off after them. The rest followed him though another tunnel, dragging the struggling Clone with them. 

Maul studied the helmet he still held in his hand. The similarities between the Clone armor and his Mandalorians was striking and they had obviously also adapted the tradition of customizing one’s armor, but instead of Mandalore they took pride in the Republic and Coruscant. 

They walked in silence until they reached Maul’s small underground hideout. He commanded his warriors to clear a perimeter and search the Clone for transmitters and weapons. They stripped him of his upper body armor, leaving him in simple black fabric with the republic symbol on his chest. Satisfied, Maul took hold of the Clone’s arm.

He pulled him inside the small room that was more or less the living room of the hideout. He put down the helmet on the table and turned around to look at the Clone. 

“You will tell me about the Jedi.”, he stated. “You have shields. Lower them or I will break them.”

The Clone didn’t look surprised and he still didn’t look scared. But Maul could feel his tension, his unease. 

“Kriff you!”, the Clone spat again. 

“Very well.”, Maul said with mock sadness and placed his hand on the Clone’s forehead. He closed his eyes and knocked on the Clone’s shields. 

The Clone focused even harder. It was adorable. Maul gathered the force the way one would prepare a punch and shattered the Clone’s shields with one swift strike. 

He heard him gasp in shock and in pain. Maul smiled and pushed on. 

The Clone was named Jesse. 

That was the first thing he learned. Starting with the basic, most essential things was a good way to show that he was in full control. 

Jesse. CT-5597. ARC-Trooper. Part of the 501st. Since the very beginning. The only one left. 

Maul smiled. Perfect. 

_Kriff you! Get out! You can’t do this! GET OUT!_

The Clone yelled in his own mind, that Maul had so forcefully invaded. Yes, this one was strong. A lesser man would have crumbled from the pain and violation already.

The Clone Jesse was still fighting. 

He knew Jesse could feel his amusement, his approval of the resistance and his excitement of breaking it. He felt a wave helpless rage answer and grinned. 

_I gave you a chance to tell me what I wanted to know. But now, I will take it!_

And with that, Maul dove in ARC Trooper Jesse’s memories. Of himself, of the war, but most importantly of the Jedi.

_  
“You’re stuck with me, Skyguy!”_

_“Don’t get snippy with me, little one!”_

_Amusement. Anticipation. This will be interesting. Skywalker with a padawan, who would have thought._

_Rex and Cody come back with two shinies. Two new brothers for the 501st. Fives and Echo. Good brothers._

_Commander Tano out on the front lines, counting how many droids she kills._

_Worry. The Captain and the Commander are stuck in a bunker filled with a deadly virus. They are cured. Relief._

_Fondness. The Commander is telling a Jedi story. Rex is smiling. Kix is next to him. A good moment._

_They go to the citadel. Tano defies orders to come with. She helps them inside, she fights with them. She survives when Master Piell dies. Jesse admits she’s a vod as much as any of them. They lose Echo._

_Worry again. Commander Tano was abducted from the battlefield. Skywalker and Koon are searching. Rex is worried sick. So is Jesse and all the other vode._

_She came back._

_Darkness… NO!_

_Tano, Skywalker and Kenobi take Rex to go undercover on a planet of slavers. Jesse is glad when they can rescue them from that hellhole. The Captain has a few new scars._

_Kenobi fakes his death. Skywalker and Tano are not okay._

_The Jedi and Rex go help a rebellion. Tano stays a bit longer, alone. She makes it._

_At this point, she’s both the Commander and a vod’ika. Jesse hates it whenever the Jedi go out on their own. He knows Kix and Fives are the same. They need to look after their Jedi._

_There is an explosion at the temple. People die. Somehow, somebody blames Ahsoka. There is no way. Jesse knows it, Rex knows it, Skywalker knows it. She would never have hurt her family. Somehow, it doesn’t matter. They eventually find her innocent, but she leaves._

_Rex smiles even less._

_Skywalker is angry more often._

_Jesse misses her._

_Tup shoots a Jedi. Fives goes awol. He gets killed. Rex is shaken. There’s so few of them left now. Rex, Jesse, Kix. The rest is gone._

_Rex finds Echo. Echo doesn’t stay. Somehow, that hurts even more than when he was dead. Jesse doesn’t blame him. If it were Kix…_

_Kix gets taken by separatists. Jesse beats a dummy until his knuckles bleed._

_Rex storms in the barracks. “Ahsoka is coming!”_

_Far too few heads turn excitedly. Jesse grabs the paint. A light in the darkness._

_Skywalker is at a loss for words. Rex smiles. Commander Rex. Ahsoka Tano. The Jedi might not agree, but if it were up to Jesse, she’d be General Tano. He would follow her anywhere.  
_

Yes! Maul can feel his excitement growing. Not only did they sent a Padawan, they sent one with direct connections to Kenobi. Killing her would most definitely hurt him.

Were this any other time, he’d be ecstatic about it. But the visions he’s had… 

Maybe this Jedi will understand. 

Curiously, Maul wanders around Jesse’s mind. The Clone has stopped resisting, has learned to pick his battles and is cowering. Letting Maul read his memories in the hopes that he won’t do worse. But Maul lives of the pain and fear. It makes him strong. And there is one place of Jesse’s mind he hasn’t looked at yet. There is a neat little barrier around those memories. They’re not designed to keep him out, no they’re meant to keep Jesse out. They are a warning sign: Do not think about this. 

Time to make a mess. 

Maul rips the barrier off and immediately he is flooded by images and feelings again. 

_  
Darkness. This planet sucks. Skywalker left. Jesse doesn’t like the new General. Krell. He asked Rex for his number and not his name. He’s not like the other Jedi._

_Exhaustion. They’ve been walking too long. Rex talked to Krell, but it’s no use. He’s treating them like tools. Jesse feels angry._

_They lose many men. Kix is in tears. Jesse is even more angry._

_Fives has a dumb idea. It’s a stupid plan. It’s freakishly risky. It might work. Jesse is in and so is Hardcase._

_They lose Hardcase, but they win._

_When they land, they’re arrested. Rex has never looked so torn. Jesse hates Krell._

_Rex tells them they’re going to be executed. Jesse can’t believe it. Yes, they went awol, but they turned the tide!_

_Kix is on the firing squad. Jesse knows he will never be able to forgive himself. Fives makes a speech. They look down the barrels and Jesse is terrified. Not because he’s going to die. They were made to be canon fodder. He didn’t expect to live through the war. He’s terrified because his own Vode are going to kill him on the orders of a mad man. They all know Krell is crazy. This shouldn’t be happening. He is terrified because he’s going to die for nothing. And Kix will suffer the guilt._

_The shots all miss._

_He’s still alive._

_The rest is a blur. More death, more madness. The 501st and the 212th killing each other. Dogma kills Krell because Rex has too good a heart._

_Weeks later. New troops arrive. Fives, Jesse, Kix, Tup and Rex sit in the barracks and share a drink. Kix hums Vode An. Tup cries. Jesse feels like crying too._

_The feeling of loss never truly goes away.  
_

He can feel Jesse reeling in his mind, fighting through all the emotion again. It’s beautiful. It’s enticing. It makes Maul feel strong. With satisfaction flowing through him he untangles his mind and leaves Jesse’s in shambles. 

Maul let’s go of the Clone and he stumbles back, eyes wide and terrified. Magnificent. 

“Thank you for the information, Jesse.”

“Kriff you.”, the Clone answers, his voice breaking. 

Maul drags him back over to the Mandalorians. He nudges the Jesse’s shoulders and the Clone drops to his knees without resistance. Two Mandos take up guard position next to him and Maul goes back to planning. 

He knows he can’t hold Mandalore. But Mandalore is unimportant. The only thing that matters is Sidious. He needs to be stopped. Maul has felt the plan coming together for weeks. He has been tense, sleep has not come easy. He can feel the galaxy is about to change and it’s going to be a plunge into darkness. Only Months ago, Maul would have welcomed a dark galaxy. The power it would bring to the dark side. The destruction of the Jedi. 

But now, after another capture by Sidious, after the visions, after looking into the Clone’s mind… Maul sees that they’re all pawns in the plan. Years after Sidious cast him aside he is still just a pawn. Maul is done playing by anybody else’s rules. The question is simply: How can he achieve to do anything else?

He needs the help of the Jedi. Maybe she can be convinced to help him kill Sidious. Maybe they can still do it before Skywalker falls. Before the last piece falls into place. Maul has seen it in his visions. The crying of a woman, the fear of many children, fire and flames, betrayal, hate. Maul knows Skywalker’s fall will hurt Kenobi more than anything he could have ever done. Somehow, he feels no satisfaction at that thought. 

He will need to talk to Ahsoka Tano. 

Maul gives a speech for the Mandalorians, they are warriors after all and Maul needs them to fight. It’s a distraction and it can’t possibly work, but they fall for it all the same. 

So while the Mando’s fly off for an attack Maul takes the Clone and makes his way to the Palace. He can feel Jesse is still shaken, but he’s pulling himself back together. His shields, however, are still down and Maul can feel his weariness, but also his confusion. 

The Clone holds out until they are far away from all the Mandalorians and most certainly alone. 

“You’re sending them to their deaths.”, he says eventually. It’s almost accusatory, as if the Mando’s haven’t killed many of his brothers today. 

“I know.”, Maul answers easily. 

“Why?”, the Clone demands. 

“Because they are unimportant. Something is about to happen. Everything is about to change.”

Jesse doesn’t answer that except for a questioning glance. They walk in silence for a few more minutes. 

“You’re going to kill me.”, the Clone says when they reach the lower levels of the Palace and Maul directs him through empty corridors to the throne room. 

“No.” Maul is surprised at himself that he gives that reassurance. Usually, he would have let the Clone stew in his fear. Usually, he would have killed him. But this time, it’s different. This time, he doesn’t want to hurt the Jedi. This time, he wants her help. 

He can feel Jesse doubting Maul’s answer and somehow he doesn’t like that. So when they enter the throne room and he pushes Jesse on his knees by the podium he lets his mind brush against the Clone’s and projects his thoughts.

_Dread. Something is happening. The plan is coming together. All this is unimportant. The only thing that matters is Sidious. He needs help. He needs the Jedi. Jesse will live, as an appeasement._

When he pulls back his mind and makes himself comfortable on the Throne he can see the Clone reel from the mental contact, but then he sighs in relief. 

Maul has never met a Clone before Jesse. He knows they’re all just pawns. But they’re also men. Somehow, that hits very close to home. 

Luckily, they don’t have to wait long. Kryze, Commander Rex and Tano enter the throne room, see him and Kryze comes running with a war cry. Maul deflects her blasts lifts and her with the force.“My Lady, is that any way to treat your rightful ruler?”

He drops her. He’s not here to make enemies after all. 

“And now, as a show of good faith, I return your comrade in arms to you.” Maul waves his hand and Jesse’s shackles spring open. The Clone removes them and rubs his wrists. He glances at Maul and Maul can’t help but feel for his mind again. 

The Clone is still scared. But now, he isn’t scared of Maul, but of what’s to come. As he should be. 

“Run along, there you go, back to your brothers.”, Maul encourages and Jesse gets up and walks over to Tano and Rex. Maul sees the Commander lay a hand on his shoulders as Jesse apologizes to Tano for giving Maul information. 

“It’s all right, Jesse.”, he hears Tano say. Maul is surprisingly pleased that they treat him as warmly as Jesse thinks of them in his memories. He is glad he could return the Clone. 

But now, there is other things to think about. 

He banishes Jesse from his mind and focuses on Ahsoka Tano. He needs her help. Time to get down to business.


End file.
